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Have you heard Foster The People – Coming of Age?

January 14, 2014 by morningaftershow

Foster
Let us take the new Foster The People song “Coming of Age” for a spin.

The record, Supermodel, comes out on March 18th.  First single in… sounds like Foster the People.  That will will either be a turn on or turn off for you.

Lots of hype from Mark Foster about global influences and how he is really into “rock.”  The creative process for Supermodel had the band set up on Morocco for a bit!  Foster saying, “We didn’t have any rules. We just created as much as we could in seven days (…) And in the spirit of wanderlust and discovery we ended up stumbling on the musical identity of what this record was going to feel like.”

I don’t hear the Morocco too much in this song.  Sounds like a So-Cal indie pop song to me.

Go with yourself.

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New single from Bombay Bicycle Club

January 14, 2014 by morningaftershow

Luna
London’s Bombay Bicycle Club will release their forth album on February 3rd, So Long, See You Tomorrow.  Their Canadian single is “Luna.”  A very pretty indie sounding modern rock song.

If you’re Coachella bound, look for them on Saturday or on tour in Canada & the US with Royal Canoe.

Go with yourself.

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Mixtape >> Alternative to what?

January 8, 2014 by morningaftershow

aurach
First day back to the blogging grind after a few weeks away.  On December 29th my son Jackson Hale was born.  It has been a wonderful adventure so far, tomorrow it is back to the Radio factory.

The past few weeks have been filled with family.  And music.  I’ve been using my time to dust off old records, listen to new records, and enjoy the pleasure of listening for the sake of listening.  It’s funny how listening to music for work can take away so much from the joy of a good song.

***

Listen to THIS! >> Alternative to What?

I put together a little mix of a few of the songs that I’ve been enjoying lately.

The day my son was born, Cursive’s “Gentleman Caller” was blaring through my thoughts.  The part where they sing “the worst is over…”  During a brief chance to rush home form the hospital while my wife rested…I grabbed my album The Ugly Organ and popped it into the compact disc player.  Its sat in the Honda since.  Such a perfect record.

My buddy Razer came over to meet my son the other day.  When Mom and Babe drifted off to sleep, we pulled out a couple beers and got talking music.  Razer was talking Victoria performer Northcote and his tour with a guy named Dave Hause.

While listening to Dave Hause of RDIO, a song form Dave Hause came on that brought Razer’s attention back to the computer, he recognized it…. it was a cover of The Promise Ring’s “Skips a Beat (Over You).”  Then we got into 90 alternative bands like The Dismemberment Plan and then Sunny Day Real Estate.  There is a documentary about the Foo Fighters that tells the story of the band and Dave Grohl recruiting the Seattle band’s bass player and drummer.

The mix ends with a song from Volcano Choir.  I’ve been looking at the album on the shelves at the record store…but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.  My friend Tyson Elder was yapping about it on twitter and sent me a copy to check out.  Pretty solid.  I liked the song “Acetate.”  Such a pretty album…but then what would you expect from Bon Iver‘s Justin Vernon?

I hope there is something in the mix you’ll enjoy.  Go with yourself.

Listen to THIS! >> Alternative to What?

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The Blog’s 2013 in review

January 1, 2014 by morningaftershow

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog. I think I need to blog about Imagine Dragons, babies and Of Monsters and Men far more if I hope to truly claim my spot as a blog superstar.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 81,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 3 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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My favourite Christmas Song

December 20, 2013 by morningaftershow

rudolph-red-nosed-reindeer-001

My favourite Christmas song is Sufjan Stevens‘ “Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day? (Well You Deserved It!)”

I first heard the song when he released his Songs for Christmas boxset back in November 2006. The song is sad, but also so beautiful.  I like the part where he sings “I only grabbed your wrist, or would you rather we kissed?”

Merry Christmas.

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Merry Christmas every one and Current Swell too

December 20, 2013 by morningaftershow

RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER
CHRISTMAS!!111  SNOW!! Well it did snow a little here in the Tropics of Canada.  And on this festive day, the due date of when my son *should* be born…. I wanna play a Christmas song.

Victoria’s Current Swell are working on new music right now for a release in 2014.  Should have a single yearly in the year.

Here is their Christmas song form last year, “Christmas Alone.”

And here is Current Swell’s most excellent 2011 song about a snow day in Victoria.

Merry Christmas!

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Mining the 90s: Speedy Ortiz

December 19, 2013 by morningaftershow

real hair
Feeling this 90’s resurgence.  I wish I had paid attention to Speedy Ortiz earlier in the year.  God bless the “Best of Lists” I get to go back and listen to some stuff I missed.

Pitchfork had Speedy Ortiz‘s Major Arcana at 48.

Carpark Records will be putting out a new EP in February.

Here is a feature cut.

Go with yourself.

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Cover Song FreakOUT! IYES covering Beyonce

December 18, 2013 by morningaftershow

IYES
Beyonce is so hot right now.  Brighton’s IYES covered the 2003 single “Crazy in Love.”

Go with yourself.

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Bossgaze from The War on Drugs

December 17, 2013 by morningaftershow

war on drugs
The band is called The War on Drugs and their third album, Lost in the Dream, is coming out in March of 2014.  I have the second record, Slave Ambient and enjoyed it.

Pitchfork calls their style Bossgaze. Pretty much daily I read about at least one new genre of music on Pitchfork.

Go with yourself.

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What are the Internet Gremlins Up To?

December 17, 2013 by morningaftershow

dog-scientist-meme-generator-the-internet-how-does-it-work-28dfaa
I have been posting songs up to Hype Machine now for awhile. I try to understand how it works, but after over a year I have no idea why some stuff gets the “hearts” and most does not.

I think generally electronic stuff out performs rock.  Metal and punk? Forget about it… but then there are bizarre exceptions.  Even the electronic stuff that takes off surprises me.  On my latest post of remixes… the Ed Sheeran song “I See Fire” remix crushes, 13,000 hearts… its Ok. Not changing my world. People love it.

The next most popular would be Lorde at just under 2,000. Then to my ear, the best song of the set… Young Galaxy, despite 14 blogs whipping it, 709 hearts.

Some songs are very popular with blogs and get a lot of posts, but that doesn’t always translate into hearts.

I wonder if I can ask Hype Machine on the data of what type of people visit the site?

In all my worlds, there seems to be little crossover.  Generally stuff that is popular on The Zone doesn’t chart very high on Hype Machine. And the stuff that crushes Hype Machine never gets requested when I DJ a dance party.  I figure the internet is a big place and all the weirdoes who like a certain sound end up on Hype Machine…maybe inflating the importance?  Maybe I live on an Island…
***

I was thinking about Disclosure the other day.  Their record Settle is considered one of the better dance records of 2013 by many critics….but the band has NEVER been requested to me when I DJ, ever.  Granted…I generally DJ weddings, but still, you’d think the BEST dance record would get at least one request?

22,000 hearts on Hype Machine
over 5,000,000 plays on soundcloud
over 25,000,000 on Youtube
Critical praise

Go with yourself.

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